Guardian Wars: Yellow (2)
#2 of Guardian Wars
Yellow
Cedrick knew the city like the back of his hand since he lived there all his life. He knew every street, every corner, every passage and every hiding spots, so escaping from the battle he'd left behind wouldn't be so hard, in fact it was easy. All he had to do was let his instincts guide him as they normally would and get him back to his safe house where he could recuperate and think. So, the first thing he had to do was gain distance between him and the enemy.
He looked back and saw faint lights flashing and soft pounds of cement and rubble being disturbed. Check.
The second thing, gain some ground between you and your enemy. Knowing the street he was on, Cedrick knew exactly when to turn into one of the alleyways with the closest emergency escape latter to take him up to the stairs. It took him no longer than 2 minutes to reach the fire escape stairs and pull himself up, not looking down or back because he had to focus on one thing: Escaping.
Reaching the roof, he pressed his fox feet into the dust and leaned forward into a sprint, leaping over a couple exhaust vents and having his mind clear and alert for anything that would get in his path.
Cedrick's breathing was stable but a little harsher than normal, trying to balance out his own breaths and timing them with both his nose and mouth. It was easy to maintain that since he ran track and field in his high school years, so he sure did manage to keep in shape. As dark as it may have been his eyes were able to make out the shapes in front of him: a pipe, an air vent blowing heat out into the cold night and a couple lawn chairs but that never slowed him down. He leaped, dodged and dove by them with the same sprint speed.
Once he came to the edge of the building, he sucked in a long breath and pictured everything went in slow motion all around him, pressing his foot onto the ledge and pushing himself up over the gap that separated him and the other building. The wind that was pushing against him was a nice cool breeze through his black fur that it made his black muscle shirt and shorts flop limply with it. It was at this moment in the air that could lead to his death that he remembered the rush of adrenaline he loved so much.
Hitting the ground on the opposite building, Cedrick absorbed the landing into a tuck-roll and hoisted himself back onto his feet and into the same speed he had. By now he had at least a dozen buildings separating him and the... messed up fairy tale battle! How can they do that? Cedrick remembered those colourful mists around their hands while they were engaging in battle, it was something you would see out of a book or a movie but he knew it wasn't any of those combined. It was real and he witnessed it.
Cedrick veered his direction a bit to the right, jumping over a couple air ducts as if they were track and field hurtles and leaped off the edge of the building and held onto the street lines that slid him down to the next building like a zip line. The Black Fox was grateful that he had his gloves on because he was not in the mood to have another rope burn on his paws again.
Landing gracefully into another tuck-roll, Cedrick's eye had caught a glimpse of yellow sparkles and that immediately made him slow down to look around. The feeling of being watched wasn't something he was used to, but he surely knew that feeling now. It felt too violating, his head turning in all directions as he came to a stop, his breathing a little hoarse and pained.
There was a light glowing of yellow at the corner of his eye but it would disappear when he would look.
It wasn't until Cedrick's ears caught the amused laughter that his body spun in the right direction.
"You're a pretty good runner."
Cedrick's eyes met the eyes of a very slender Bunny, sitting on the ledge of the building with his long legs crossed and back straight, resting his arms on his legs so he would appear sophisticated. The Bunny's pink and violet fur rustled in the wind along with his ears that flopped lazily down behind his head. He wore golden arm and leg gauntlets, which meant that this bunny wasn't around here often for Cedrick to realize him. The only thing that concealed his naked body was his golden pant armour that only ended above the knee caps, just for flexing his legs. The bottom of his knee caps held the gauntlets.
"Who are you?" Cedrick asked, his voice firm but still a little breathless in the cold night.
The Bunny only chuckled to himself before standing up off the ledge and looking the Fox in the eyes with amused ones, his smirk making Cedrick want to regret asking, "You don't remember me?" He said, clenching his hands a little to cause the air around his hands to formulate into a yellow sparkling mist. "You were, in fact, the one who released us from that wretched trap."
2 hours earlier...
"Okay, Benny, I'm inside. Where do I go from here?"
Cedrick Coleman spoke through the Bluetooth earpiece as he landed nice and soft on the museum's marble floor, looking down the dark hallway in front of him and finding that he was alone. The hallway was quiet so Cedrick made sure that he spoke in almost a whisper, keeping his back against the wall and looking out for anyone that might show up unexpectedly. The windows shown the moonlight's light blue color in rectangular shapes, shining on the golden artwork that Cedrick guessed was artefacts from South Africa, making him gawk a little at how much they would cost if he were to actually obtain one of them. But he knew that he didn't have the backpack big enough to carry one of them. Besides, he had his mind set on something else-something more expensive and unique.
"Will you stop calling me that?" Ben spoke through the earpiece, sounding annoyed and irritated with Cedrick's stupid name he gave him, "Your package is just down the hallway on the last left door."
"Got it, make sure you keep an eye on the cameras. How much time do I have?"
"About five minutes. Get moving." Ben wasn't usually demanding-especially when it came to a job like this-but for some reason this was making him more aware than he normally is. Ben's the communications and technicians specialist, he provides Cedrick the details of his job and keeps surveillance on the security camera's he's hacked into so nobody gets in his way. But there's a snag to him and Cedrick knows this for sure: he isn't a professional trained in school. Cedrick found out that he was originally a computer game hacker, hacking into almost every gaming system and subscription banks that he stole valuable information by just simple clicks on the computer. In Cedrick's eyes-and profession-he found that quite useful.
Moving down the hallway with his back stuck to the wall,Cedrick moved foot after foot, finally coming to the end of the hallway and standing next to the door he was supposed to break into. After finding that it was locked, Cedrick slid his backpack off and reached out a pin, stabbing it into the key hole and hearing a few clicks before the finial chink sound. He was in.
Smirking, Cedrick eased the door open enough to fit his slender body in and slid into the next room, closing the door behind him and relocking it.
"Package found." He said in a whisper, his heart racing after finding what he was looking for. "Get ready for extraction route on my word."
"Copy that, stand by."Replied Ben.
Cedrick moved toward the gem laying in its case in the middle of the room, its blood red color just gleaming sparkles in the moonlight. The gem itself was protected in a rectangular glass case that seemed to have a security alarm wired to the edges so that if someone were to lift the case, it would trip a silent alarm to the museum guards, which in that scenario, cannot happen. Looking at the window, Cedrick noted that the night sky was illuminated by New Yorks city lights, car horns were barely heard in this room but he was sure it would be loud outside.
Cedrick was on the seventh floor, which means the fall would kill him if he jumped. But a thief always comes prepared on a job like this. Opening the window wide open, Cedrick peeked down and noticed his grapple wire was still attached.
Once Cedrick grabbed the gem, he would break for the grapple that connected the museum to the next building opposite. By there, he should be able to make his way towards the rendezvous point so he could escape without any visitors trailing his tail.
It was perfect; nothing should be able to get into his way. Cedrick was skilled enough to seem like a ghost in the concrete jungle and he made sure that he could escape any job that he takes. Once he secures the gem and makes it back to his safe house, Ben would be happy to take the gem to a buyer who is willing to pay lots of cash.
"Okay," Cedrick said, taking a deep smooth breath, "Now!" Cedrick pushed the glass case off its place, hearing it shatter in the process as it hurtled to the ground. Not very quiet but it's quick and easy to grab the gem and run for the window.
It was at that moment that Cedrick regretted doing this in the first place, because once he grabbed the gem his world in front of him erupted in a white, searing light of pain...
"Well, I'll be damned."
Cedrick opened his eyes, finding himself on his behind and looking up at a group that weren't very clear in the darkness. His glasses, they weren't working anymore, the light must have malfunctioned them at that bright light. There must have been seven of them-maybe six-but they just came out of no where. Benny just said he was alone... Who are these people?
"I never expected this one bit." The one standing third from the right stepped forward, the moonlight shinning on his big grin until his facial features shown clear to Cedrick.
It was a Lizard with the look of murder in his eyes...
"Did that happen all too fast for you?" The Bunny said, his yellow mist flopping in the wind like an untamed fire. It sparkled so brightly, like little pin needle points stabbing white dots in the air. The slim Bunny walked with a straight back, his shoulders were held straight at a good posture while his legs walked in front of each other as if he was a model walking down the catwalk. His track star torso was indeed built for the shape he had, which Cedrick silently noted that he could be fast as well. He stopped immediately, standing just five paces away from the Fox and holding a grin that made his heart beat twice.
"What do you want...?" Cedrick demanded, stepping back in the process of looking around the roof he stood on, scanning for an escape route he could use.
"What do I want?" The Bunny echoed in a more pleasurable tone, his voice so soft and attractive that it made no sense to not like the sound of it. Cedrick thought of a violin being played on a slower and deeper tone and compared it to his voice, then hated him for thinking that. "Why, I just want you to give me what I want. That's why we're all here."
"Give you..." He reached for his back but felt nothing, his back pack wasn't on him, "The diamond...?"
"Mhmm," The Bunny nodded and tilted his head, "That's exactly what I want."
1 hour earlier
Cedrick bolted down the hallway he'd just come from, his running senses scanning the hallway for anything that would make an easy access out of the building, but so far he needed to worry about one thing right now.
The diamond.
That glass still tripped the silent alarm, which meant the guards were on their way. "Benny, I need an escape route, now! Trust me, this job just made the money not worth it anymore."
His ear piece scratched and went into a state of static. "Benny?" He said, turning the corner at the end of the hallway, "Ben!"
His earpiece is dead. Great, now his entire equipment was thrashed and Benny wasn't going to like it when he got back. Or if he got back.
"Freeze!" The security guard in front of him at the end of the hall lifted his hand, the pot belly Bear lifted his belt with the other and glared at Cedrick, "Don't move!"
They always say that in the movies, when will they ever learn?
Cedrick turned back and rounded the corner, "Hey!"
The Security guard ran after him. Cedrick knew by the way his keys were jingling on his belt, so he couldn't run that way. If he ran back, he would go back to that Lizard who had the look of murder in his eyes. So he was trapped, knowing full well that if he went both ways he would be royally screwed in the end. Running at full speed, he cursed at his options until he saw what he immediately assumed was his key out of here. The air vent he'd just come through was still there on the ceiling.
Of course! How could he have been so stupid!
He had no option or choice at this moment, he had to take it. At full speed, Cedrick leaped towards the wall on his left and used his foot to push off so he could grip the vents side, swiftly bringing his legs up and disappearing into the ventilation shaft.
"What the hell...?" The guard stood just below, his stun gun drawn and scanning the hallway for any signs of Cedrick.
This job was too hot right now, that guard will have the city cops here in just a few seconds so Cedrick had to get out and lay low. He couldn't leave with a bag; he'll only get suspicions from people. So he was left with only one choice.
Taking the diamond out of his pocket, Cedrick placed it inside his back pack and left it in the ventilation shaft. He'll have to come back for it later...
By the time Cedrick left the building and was on the streets, the cops had already parked their cars outside, the sirens glowing to life in the flashing red and blue spirals.
"I believe you have something of mine..."
Cedrick stopped, looked at the horrible big grin in front of him, and had his reflexes take over instantly. Running for the first alleyway that came to view...
"Where is my diamond, Foxy-boy?"
The Bunny spoke nicely, his grin turning into a nice smile, "I... I don't know what you're talking about." Cedrick said with a stutter that made him sound like a train on tracks.
"Now, Foxy-boy," The yellow mist now became solid gel around his now clenched hands, "Don't go lying to me." He smiled his attractive smile again.
"Why do you need it? I don't have it, honestly!"
His ears twitched, "Because," He took the final five steps and got into Cedrick's face, his smile soft and sincere, "I need it."
Cedrick huffed a sigh, knowing now that he was holding his breath too long. As of now his emotions were going off the hook, he didn't know if he should fear the Bunny, or really feel attracted. This was crazy!
"Lay off, Arion." Both of their attention was brought to the voice that interrupted them. And by the way Cedrick's heart skipped again when he saw who it was, he felt like fainting.
"Aw, C'mon Julius, I was only having a little fun." The Bunny smirked over his shoulder before his yellow mist died down, making Cedrick take a sigh of relief.
The Dragon from before smirked, showing his brilliant white teeth, "Let's just get to a safe place before we start doing the flirtatious acts. He is the one who freed us from that trap after all. So we do owe him..."
Chapter 2~ 8D It's always late when I write and god i'm too tired to check the spelling xD So sorry.
Anyhow, I'm still alive!!!! So enjoy!